A child with acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by avian influenza H3N8 virus

Recently in this Journal, Li and colleagues showed that wild bird-origin H3N8 avian influenza virus can potentially adapt well to a mammalian host [1]. This suggests that H3N8 virus may pose a potential threat to human health. Several previous studies have also shown that H3N8 virus are associated with persistent infection outbreaks in dogs and horses, and have been isolated from pigs, donkeys, and most recently seals [2–4]. A case of acute respiratory distress syndrome in children caused by H3N8 influenza virus has been identified (Fig. 1).